E-junkie: An online platform for your social media needs

 

E-junkie is a startup founded by Robin Singh.

 

E-junkie is a copy-paste service to sell digital (files and codes) and tangible goods on your website, blog and social media, says Robin.

 

We got an opportunity to catch up with him and know his journey as a founder. Robin has an inspiring journey, read his full story.

 

 

Give a brief info about your startup?

E-junkie is a copy-paste service to sell digital (files and codes) and tangible goods on your website, blog and social media.

 

 

What made you start your startup and what problem does it solve?

A lot of independent artists sell ebooks, comics, art, audio and video on marketplaces (etsy, itunes, amazon etc) and the steep commission is okay as the marketplace generates the sales. However, sending their own audience to the marketplace to buy their product is then like keeping a dog, and barking yourself. E-junkie solves this by removing the technology barrier and makes the whole process – adding a shopping cart , integrating with payment processor (PayPal, Stripe, PayTM, Razorpay, Instamojo), and doing digital delivery (if needed) – as easy as copy-paste.

 

 

Tell us about yourself, your previous jobs/ventures? What were you doing before this startup?

I started my career as a hacker, and then selling small utilities online. I was also a partner in Brink Media, Inc USA. Along with E-junkie, I also run Peepal Farm – a stray animal rescue, and an organic farm

 

 

Where is your startup based out of? Why do you think that is the best place for you?

The company is headquartered in Delhi, the developers are in Himachal (where I am based out of), and the customer support is in Tucson, AZ (USA) as 60% of our clients are from North America.

 

 

As a startup founder, what are you paranoid about? What keeps you awake at night?

None of the conventional fears bother me. I take things in stride. I do think about that other than wealth creation, I need to find ways for converting wealth in Good Work.

 

 

Who are your competitions and how are you better than them?

PayLoadz and GumRoad are what I’ll call direct competitors. While all of us have similar tech play, our customer support is out of the world. It’s geeks like me, who really enjoy helping people solve problems. So it’s not your typical scripted copy-paste nonsense, which actually does not even work with the niche segment that uses us. So, with E-junkie you almost get your own consultant who can customize the tool to suit your specific needs.

That said, if someone has more than a thousand items in their catalog but few sales, PayLoadz’s or Gumroad’s percentage model might be better. We are more suited for people whose catalog size is not bigger than a few hundred items. Most of our clients have less than 20 items in the catalog.

 

 

How hard is it to have a work life balance as a startup founder and how do you manage it?

For me, waking life is working life. People around me know that. I work 12 hours days, 7 days, and I switch between projects that I handle to avoid being burnt out. My balance is between 5 key things. Personal care, so I can function efficiently. Work, that makes money. Work, that utilizes that money. Delegating menial tasks of life that steal your productivity, and finally some rest time before sleep so I don’t sleep wound up. I maintain a broad structure of day, and limit my exposure to things and people which can distract me. I like being focused, so I make sure I, and people around me know what I need to ignore.

 

 

Have you raised funding? If yes, then we would like to know the details. If no then please tell us if you are looking to raise.

No, we bootstrapped it, and we are cash positive. The only reason we will entertain VC is if they bring their management expertise for marketing, and scaling operations with them.

 

 

What’s the biggest misconception people have about you? Why do they have that? What’s the reality?

People find me un-approachable as I look very serious and I don’t have time for fluff talk and nonsense. In reality, I don’t take myself seriously, but I take time and life seriously.  I am an open person and like conversations as long as they are linear, rational and have a point.

 

 

What gets you excited about this company?

I really like helping remove technology barriers for people. I like that E-junkie plays a part for a lot of people to have financial and location independence.

 

 

Tell us how a day in your life looks like? Your schedule for a day right from the time you get up till you hit the bed at night.

I use anchors to structure my day.

I wake up a 7:00, and my breakfast is 2 cups of coffee. I catch up on any messages then, and do a complete walk around the farm. Then I work on ground between 9:00 and 1:00, and do any meetings and phone calls. 1:00 is lunch, which is the second anchor.  After 1:00 I don’t do any meetings or phone calls if I can. I take it easy till 3:00. Then work from 3:00 to 7:00, and 7:00 is dinner which is the third anchor.  After dinner, I take it easy till I sleep, which I keep open ended.

 

 

Tell us about your team and how did you meet each other?

My key guys are Tyson, who runs our customer support and I met him by posting an ad on craigslist. We met for coffee at Epic Cafe in Tucson, that’s where me, every other hippie and incidentally Tyson too liked hanging out.  Swastik, my tech lead is someone I met at hill hacks in Himachal. These are both amazing people, who have great work ethic and they not only believe in E-junkie, but also what it enables me to do – Peepal Farm.

 

 

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